SONS OF THUNDER — the name given to James and John at Mark 3:17. ⚠ Mark transliterates something Semitic and then translates it for his readers, which is his standing habit (talitha koum 5:41, ephphatha 7:34, abba 14:36, eloi 15:34) and one of the clearest signs that he is writing for people who do not know Aramaic. The first element is plainly benē, sons. The second is the difficulty: 'thunder' in Aramaic is ra'am, and Boanērges is usually traced instead to regesh or regaz — tumult, agitation, rage — so the gloss Mark supplies is easier than the etymology behind it. The library reports that and notes what the Gospel does not: nobody ever calls them this again, and the two men it is given to are the pair who ask for the thrones (10:37) and want to call fire down on a village (Luke 9:54). → first discussed at Mark 3:17